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  the catalogue : surfboard fins 

surfboards prone and knee boards fins board portraits

the catalogue : surfboard fins
The fin, or skeg, is a hydrodynamic blade attached on the bottom of the board at the tail.
For hundreds of years, Polynesian surfers rode their surfboards without fins, and in the early twentieth century, the fin-less Hawaiian surfboard was exported around the world.
Shallow, long based skegs, were introduced by Tom Blake in 1935, but it was only after the development of the lightweight fibre-glassed balsa board that the fin became integral as a defining feature of the modern surfboard.
By providing drag, in fact slowing the board's speed, the fin gives direction and stability, vastly improving the rider's control.

Fin Performance
1. Any discussion of surfboard fin performance must first be based on an understanding of surfboard dynamics.
Critically,
surfboards are planning hulls, as noted by Lindsay Lord (1946), planning on the meniscus, the barrier between the surface of the wave and the air.
Conversely, the fin is hyrodynamic, that is, it travels through the water,
and thus performs according to displacement hull principles.


2. The assessment of surfboard performance is essentially subjective, the rider invariably refering to the feel of the board or fin, and the vast majority of surfers' knowledge about boards and fins is "incorrect, inaccurate, and unclear."
For example see the current wikipedia entry.

3. With a change in the design, dimensions, or position of the fin on a surfboard, the rider invariably reports a change the feel of the board.

4.
The difficulties associated with a "technical" analysis of fin performance and considerable, and a "large influence on the design relates to aesthetic considerations and perceived market expectations."

- Anthony Livanos (Faculty of Engineering University of Western Australia):
Computational Fluid Dynamics Investigation of Two Surfboard Fin Configurations.
.members.iinet.net.au/~livanos/CFD_report/Report.doc

History
While the first use of the surfboard fin is commonly accredited to Tom Blake (Hawaii) in 1934, the contributions to fin design by Blake and Bob Simmons (1946-1949) are substantially over-rated.

The first use of a fin, skeg or keel on a surfboard was probably over one hundred years earlier by the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island; combining traditional Polynesian design, imported from Tahiti, and European boat-building. 
In 1821,
Dr. David Ramsey described their surfboards as a flat board about 3 feet long, on the upper side smooth and on the under a ridge like a keel.
See
Surfriding on Pitcairn Island.
Extracts from The Scrapbook of the Log of the Ship "Surry", Pitcairn Island, April 1821, page 7.

The most significant work was by George Downing, Woody Brown and Wally Froiseth in Hawaii, and Joe Quigg in California in the late 1940s.
They were followed by George Greenough (1965-1970) and Simon Anderson (1980-1983).

Dimensions
The standard dimensions are
height (or length or depth), base, span, and distance set from the tail.
Other rarely considered specifications are surface area (often noted on sailboard fins), thickness and the foil or cord.
See below.


Fin Nonsense, 2014:
What was she on? Sally Fitzgibbons & FCS ll
Surfersvillage Global Surf News
29 May, 2014 - DESIGN: In some of the most challenging conditions ever seen for a women’s ASP Tour event, Aussie golden gal Sally Fitzgibbons has emerged victorious over Steph Gilmore while riding the new FCS II system and the JW Medium fin template.
Over the course of the event competitors were forced to adjust from the long open face walls of Cloudbreak to the funnelling barrels at Restaurants.
Mixing backhand tube riding with powerful carves ...




Steve
Wilkings Photography
http://www.stevewilkings.com/default.php
Select: 1932 and Search.
1932
Bill Wheeler Keel Fin
A prone board fitted with a white long based keel fin, mounted with four metal L-brackets.
An ACME News service photo of Margaret Olson holding a new type of surfboard designed by Bill Wheeler.
Photo was taken May 10, 1932.

circa 1934
Tom Blake's Nub - Keel Fin 
solid timber 
2 x 12 b @ 4 inches  (Approximation)
Tom Blake's first fin with Big Surf Handle
Photograph and hand written caption 
by Tom Blake.

Surfer Magazine,
March 1981, Volume 22, Number 3, 
page 37.


Of all the hundreds of pre-1935 photos I've studied at the Bishop, the Hawaiian State Archives, and on the mainland, I have never seen a legitimate photo of a board with a fin prior to Blake's1935 fin - it just didn't happen before 1935, regardless of what others say.

- Gary Lynch :
Australian Surfers Journal Vol 3 No 1 Summer 2000 page 10.

Aust wood fin,
                1957
circa 1935
Nub Fin/  Keel
Tom Blake
solid timber 
2 x 12 b @ 6? inches  (Approximation)

Photograph: Bjorn DeBoer  :
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 68


Tom Blake Twin
                fin, circa 1943
circa 1943,
Tom Blake Twin fins, 
Timber
4 x 12 b @ 2 inches  (Approximation)
Hollow timber board. 
Note fin camber.
The feet are Tom Blake's.

Uncredited photograph, 
Australian Surfers Journal
Vol 3 No 1 Summer 2000 page 10.


1942
Keel Fin - Pacific Systems Homes
Redwood - varnished
2 x 14 b @ 3 inches (approximation)
Waikiki Surf Board Model
Pacific Systems Homes Inc, L.A. California

Spencer and Annette Croul Collection
Blackburn, page 60


1946 - 1947
Simmons' Radius Fin - Rounded Keel
Wood and fibreglass
6 x 12 b @ 2 inches (approximation)
Bob Simmons' Laminate Board, USA.

Hoffman collection
Blackburn, page 72


1948
Simmons' Twin Fin
Wood and fibreglass
6 x 12 b @ 2 inches (approximation)
Bob Simmons' Laminate Board, USA.

Dick Metz Collection, Dana Point, California.
Blackburn, page 73


1949
Simmons' Twin Fin
Wood and fibreglass
7 x 10 b @ 3 inches (approximation)
Bob Simmons' Balsa Board, USA.
Note  concave tail section.
Hoffman Collection.
Blackburn, page 77

1949 
Simmons' Radius Fin - Rounded Keel 
Koa Wood and fibreglass 
3 1/2 x 13 1/2 b  inches 

Surfer Magazine
The Malibu Fin Appendix
Volume 17 No 2 July 1976 , page 69


circa 1949 
'Hot Curl' Laminated Fin 
Laminated timber and fibreglass 
7 x 6 1/2 b @ 1 1/2 inches. Pod 8 1/2''
Warringah Surf Permit 1960-1961 : #1099

23. HOT CURL SURFBOARD / SOLID TIMBER - approx. 10', late 1940's, replica fin taken from the original (recently broken)...
Notes, dimensions and photograph : 
Sydney Surf Auction
Mona Vale  Hotel, Sydney, 30 October 2005 
Catalogue No. 23
Thanks to Mick Mock


circa 1950
Timber Addition
8 x 10 b @ 0 inches  (Approximation)
Fixed to board, if not laminated, by fibreglass.
Possibly added post production to a solid timber board.
Note broken tip.
USA

Photograph :Bjorn DeBoer
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 68


1953 
Simmons' Removable 
(Wedge fit into channel)
Marine Plyood 
4 1/2 x 6 (b)  inches 

Surfer Magazine
The Malibu Fin Appendix
Volume 17 No 2 July 1976 , page 69


1955 
Butterfly Fin 
Laminated Timber 
8 x 7 b @ 4 inches  (Approximation)
Velsy-Jacobs Surfboards USA
Futuristic in template and concept
Revived 1978

Photograph : Bob Meistrell
Longboard Magazine
Vol 12 No 1 March -April 2004  page 33.


circa 1957
Wood fin,
8 x 9 b @ 1 inches  (Approximation)
Okinuee - Hollow malibu board adaptation.
Note base support and nails.
Brisbane Australia, 

Darryl Homan collection
Photograph : Michael Simmons
 Australian Surfers Journal
Vol 3 No 1 Summer 2000 page 38



circa 1959
Hatchet fin and two Moon keels,





circa 1958-1965?
Dorsal Aluminium Screw-on Fin
Cast aluminium with six screw-holes, three each side.

Fin blade: 7'' x 7'' base
Fin and base: 8" x 8.5" base
Base: 1" height x 8.5" length x 1.5" width

Found by Mark Jackson
in 2018 at a Wollongong garage sale in a box with two used fibreglass fins from lifesaving paddle boards.

Consistent with the collection, this fin was possibly made to be screwed onto timber surfboard, or even a timber surf-ski, possibly used by a surf lifesaver.
The fin was perhaps cast in the late 1950s following the introduction of the Malibu board to Australia in late 1956.
 
However, the template and the foiling of the fin is advanced for the suggested 1958, these not becoming standard features until the mid-1960s.
Thus it might have been intended to screw onto a foam board with a very wide stringer (at least 1.5") or into a suitably located block of wood
inserted in the blank before glassing.

The construction, although much larger, is similar to bolt-on fins, or skegs, used on water skis of the period.

The remnant screw head in one hole suggests the fin was affixed and used on a board at some time.

Dimensions and images
contributed by Mark Jackson, with many thanks.


1959
D Fin
Laminated Timber ?
8 x 9 b @ 0 inches  (Approximation)
Very ealy foam (polystyrene?) Malibu board by
McDonagh Surfboards
Red 1961-2 Surfcraft registration,
Warringah Council (Northern Beaches), Sydney.

1960
Roger "The Duck" Keiran Fin and Wedge Finbox
Wood fin 11'' x 4 1/4'' base x 8'' span
(height actually 13'' but allowance for fin box insertion).
Fin box, fibreglass 7'' x 2 1/2'' and 1 1/2'' deep.

Note that the fin base and finbox lengths are not consistent and the fin maybe a replacement.

Images courtesy of Mick Mock, Sydney Surf Auction 2010, Catalogue #103.


1960
Downing Gun Fin
Wood and fibreglass
10 x 8 b @ 2 inches (approximation)
George Downing Surfboards, Hawaii.

Ed and Randi Economy Collection
"...one of ten shaped by George Downing and was his personal board. Stripes on fin were used to identify boards that went out to sea as these were pre-leash days. This was a common occurrence at Sunset beach in the early 1960 's."
Blackburn, page 73


1960
Rounded D fin 
laminated fibreglass 
8 x 10 b @ 1 inches  (Approximation)
Note in timber fin stringer and decals.
Greg Noll Surfboards USA

Photograph :Don Blanch 
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 68


1960
Rounded D fin 
Laminated chop-strand mat
Red pigment
Australia
8 x 10 b @ 1/2 inches  (Approximation)

1960
Square fin 
Laminated Ash and Walnut, Fibreglass
8 x 8 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)

Cary B. Weiss Collection
Photograph : Douglas Congdon-Martin
Schiffer  page 58.


1960
Popout (Square) fin 
Molded polypropelene 
9 x 89b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)
Designed by Gerry Williamson for Malibu Plastics, USA.
Aluminum box
The fin was removable, floated and designed to release if heavy contact.
The design was used in Australia by Dunlop Surfboards, circa 1964, see below.
Photograph :Uncredited
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 7 No 6.  November/December 1999 page 85


1962
D fin 
Bennett Surfboards #385



1966
Rounded D fin. 
Gordon Woods Surfboards
Manly Surf Permit 1962-1963


1962
D fin 
Scott Dillon Surfboards


1962
D fin 
The Surf Shop
Albert House, King George Square, Brisbane, Phone 35-1012

Early 1960's restored
9ft 3" stringer-less (!) with wooden D-fin, about 8.5" deep.


Brookvale - St Marys, Sydney
1962
Dunlop fin box, circa 1963-1966.

Vary the fin to different surfs.
Remove it for easy transportation.
Fin is held firmly in position with specially designed nylon  slot attachment.



1960
Greenough
Laminated fibreglass, dimensions?
George Greenough's second fin circa 1960, on a balsa kneeboard built 1959...
 "wood shop at school...the first flexible,  high aspect ratio fin I tried."
Originally the board had a  conventional fin of the period. 
  
A Greenough Scrapbook
The Australian Surfer's Journal,Volume 2 No 2, Autumn 1999, pages 82-84.

1962
Greenough Twin Fins 
Laminated fibreglass
Dimensions?
Photo: George Greenough; Crockett: Switch-foot, page 175
 The (balsa spoon) board was built in 1962, originally as "a twin fin, but as time went on, I moved the fins closer together, and it kept working better and better.
Eventually, it turned into a single fin!"

1963
Square Fin 
laminated fibreglass,
yellow resin stripe decor.
JohnSaffron Surfboards 

1963
D Fin
laminated red wood and balsa with thin glass 
bead.
8 1/4 x 10 b @ 2 inches
# 24
Balsa Malibu


1963
Original gel-coated D fin
Keyo Surfboards.

Contributed  by Graham in October 2019.
See Sutherland Shire Surf Craft Regulations, 1963.


1963
Reverse D fin. 
Scott Dillon Surfboards


1963
Early Cutaway or Dorsal or Dolphin fin. 
Chop strand mat 
9 1/2 x 12 b @ 0 inches
Surf Craft Sticker 
Red Surfcraft permit 1968-1969  #1540.
Randwick Council (Southern Beaches), Sydney
Crude  fin with extended base to tail. 
#120 
Shane Surfboards


1963
Fathead
Laurie Hohensee: Safari Surfboards
Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast, Queensland.

Also see
Hohensee Surfboards.


1963
Reverse D. 
Reverse- Phil- Pixie- Fin
 
Ron Surfboards: Narrow (gun) tail).
Leg-rope hole.


1963
Gothic Fin
 
Gordon Woods Surfboards
Note leg-rope hole.


1964
D fin, Scott Dillon Surfboards
Shaped by Bob 'Keno' Kennerson
Fibreglass
9 x 8 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)


1964
Wooden D fin, Mick Dooley Surfboards

Fibreglass and laminated wood panels.
9 x 8 b @ 1 inch  (Approximation)

The white section is severe water staining.


Image thanks to Scott Wiggins, December 2019.


1964
Wooden D fin, Dale Surfboards

Fibreglass, timber, and paint.
9 x 8 b @ 1 inch  (Approximation)

1964
Tunnel Fin
Sam [Egan] Custom Surfboards - Merewether Surf Shop.

Laminated fibreglass

8 x 18 b @ 4 inches ??? (Approximation)


 
1964
Tunnel Fin
Sydney?

Images thanks to Snazzy, 2019.



1964
Reverse Rounded  D. 
Reverse/Phil/Pixie Fin
 
Wallace Surfboards

1964
Reverse D. 
Reverse/Phil/Pixie Fin
10 1/2 x 9 b @  9 inches
Laminated 10oz cloth. 
Set at the tail step.
#190
King Surfboards Step Tail 

1964
Rounded D fin 
9 x 19 b @ 2 inches  (Approximation)

Multi
                laminate wood D fin, 1962
1964
D fin 
Multi timber laminate 
Resin Bead
9 x 19 b @ 2 inches  (Approximation)
McDonagh Surfboards


1964
D fin 
Multi timber laminate - Sun Beams
Resin Bead
9 x 19 b @ 0 inches  (Approximation)
The hole in the fin could have been to hang the board for display,
or less likely a leg-rope.
 
Bennett Surfboards

1964
Twin Keel Fins
Pigmented chop strand mat
Minimal foiling
4 1/2 x 9 1/2 b @  1 inches
# 50 
Barry Bennett Surfboards Belly board 


1964
Twin Keel Fins
Light foiling  
McDonagh Surfboards Belly board

  1963-19644
Jackson Surfboards J Fin, 
Laminated fibreglass
Minimal foiling
9 x 10 1/2 b x 13  1/22 s @  0 inches
(estimated)

1964
Dorsal, 
Laminated fibreglass
Deep foiling at rear near base
9 x 10 1/2 b x 13  1/22 s @  3  1/2 inches
Barry Bennett Surfboards 

1964
Bat Fin
Laminated fibreglass
8 x 11 b @ 3 inches  (Approximation)
Dave Sweet Surfboards USA

Photograph : Don Balch
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 70


1964
Tunnel Fin
Originally by  Richard Deese.
-Thanks to  Paul D. Gross
Image - Hustler Fin
Laminated fibreglass
8 x 18 b @ 6 inches ??? (Approximation)
Ski & Dive (Surfboards) USA

Photograph : Don Balch
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 70


Australian Advertisment (from unsourced clipping) circa 1965...
The Fabulous Tunnel Fin
Bombora Surf Shop Box 2216 GPO Sydney
"The greatest breakthrough in surfboard design since
the introduction of the short board in 1956"
- Includes review by Dennis Olsen
American Surf Guide April 1964.
Cost by Mail Order 59/6 + 3/6 postage.
Aust. Patent : 435221/64
1964
Greenough
Laminated fibreglass, Dimensions?
Velo Balsa Spoon  Fin  circa 1964. 
The board was built in 1962, originally as "a twin fin, but as time went on, I moved the fins closer together, and it kept working better and better. Eventually, it turned into a single fin!"
George Greenough in 
The Australian Surfer's Journal
Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 1999, pages 84, 86 and 87.

1964
D fin: Nat Young Model
.
Gordon Woods Surfboards, 1964.

1965
Dorsal fin: Nat Young Model
.
Gordon Woods Surfboards, 1965.

The board's owner suggested this was originally a 1964  D-fin that had been reshaped.
This is improbable, but note the straightened edge at the top of the fin, evidence that the fin was regularly ridden right to the beach, dragging in the sand in the shallows.

Gun fin,1960,
                Checked
1965
Gun fin 
Checkered  timber laminate with deep glass bead 
7 x 13 b @ 8 inches  (Approximation)
Flippy Hoffman's personal board
Dewey Weber Surfboards, USA

Photograph :Bjorn DeBoer 
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996, November/December, page 69


1965 
Noserider  (Nuuihwa adaptation?)
Two colour laminated fibreglass
91/2 x 11 b @  2 inches
 # 87
Gordon & Smith (Australia) Surfboards Noserider 

1965
Greenough Stage I 
Laminated fibreglass
10 x 7 b @  2 inches (approximation)
First  fin (left) by George Greenough fitted to a conventional surfboard, early 1965. 
The board (approximately 9 ft, probably a Hayden) was shaped and/or ridden by Algie Grud.
The fin on the right is common for the period.
Photograph & Notes: George Greenough, 
The Australian Surfer's Journal ,Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 1999 page 105.

 
1965
Rennie Yater Fin by Tom Morey's Skeg Works
Barry Bennett Surfboard, 1965
Polypropylene
8 x 9 1/2 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)

I assume the box was glassed into the board and the fin then glued into place without rovings because the resin would not bond to the Polypropylene.

Advertisement:
Tom Morey Skeg Works 

235 W. Santa Clara Street, Ventura, California.
Surfer
July 1965, Volume 6 Number  3, page 69 .



1965
Rennie Yater Fin by Tom Morey's Skeg Works
Peter Clarke Surfboard, 1965.
Keith Paull Model
Polypropylene
8 x 9 1/2 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)




1965
Moulded Plastic Fin
Keyo Surfboards

Surfabout
v2 n12 1965 page 5

1965
Fin Stabilizer (on D fin)
???
8 x 9 1/2 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)

One of several experiments encouraged by Tom Morey's Noseriding Contest at Ventura in July 1965.

Unaccredited.
Bill Cleary: 
"Nose Riding - A sport within a sport."
Surfer Magazine,
November 1965, Volume 6 Number 5, page 33.


1965
Offset Fin Boxes (additional control skegs)
Polypropelene
8 x 9 1/2 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)
Another experiment encouraged by Tom Morey's Noseriding Contest.
Unaccredited.
Bill Cleary: 
"Nose Riding - A sport within a sport."
Surfer Magazine,
November 1965, Volume 6 Number 5, page 33.

1965
Yater #2 
Polypropelene
8 x 9 1/2 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)
Note Wonder Bolt at fin base
- a stainless steel capstan  that tightened against the rear of of a fin box.

C. R. Steck Collection
Photograph : Douglas Congdon-Martin
Schiffer  page 59.


1965
Hatchet fin by Weber

7x 11 b @ 5 inches  (Approximation)
Weber Performer
Dewey Weber Surfboards USA

The Hatchet Fin was designed by Dewey Weber in 1965 with the original template at a massive 18” and was called the Turn Fin, before adopting the name Hatchet Fin.
The design became synonymous with Dewey Weber Surfboards Performer model.


1965
Hynson Dorsal - Red fin 
Laminated fibreglass
9 x 9 b @ 4inches  (Approximation)
Gordon and Smith Surfboards USA

Alan Seymour, Pacfic Coast Vintage Auctions
Blackburn, page 228


1965
Straightback 
Laminated fibreglass
10 1/2 x 10 1/2 b x 10  1/2 s @ 4 inches 
Scott Dillon Surfboards

1965
Cooper Fin
Laminated fibreglass
10 x 10 b x 10s @ 2 inches 
Max Gill Surfboards

Possibly attributed to Bob Cooper.


1965
Waveset range of fin designs.


1966
Dorsal Fin- Wonder Bolt
White polypropelene.

Con Surfboards, Santa Monica, California.
Surfer, January 1966
Volume 7 Number 6


1966
Nylon Dorsal - Dolphin
Keith Paull Model
Peter Clarke Surfboards.

1966
Dorsal - Dolphin
Red pigment laminated fibreglass.
9 x10 b @ 3 inches. 
Slight foiling to rear edge.
Australian copy of Hynson Dorsal (Red Fin)
Gordon and Smith Surfboards USA
#169
Barry Bennett  Surfboards

1966
Flow-thru Fin 
Laminated fibreglass
10x 10 b @ 1 inches ??? (Approximation)
White Owl Surfboards USA

Photo: Don Balch 
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 70


1966
Tiger tail fin 
Laminated fibreglass
12 x 8 b @ 5 inches  (Approximation)
Tiger Espere
Greek Surfboards USA

Photo: Don Balch
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 70


1966
Weber Turbo Fin
Laminated fibreglass ?
11'' x 5'' b @ 4 inches  (Approximation)
Factory Powered by Weber Noserider  Model
Weber Surfboards USA

Image cropped from
Warshaw : Surfriders   page 77
Photograph by Leroy Grannis


1966
Nuuhiwa Noserider Fin
Laminated fibreglass
8 x 10 b @ 2 inches  (Approximation)
Nuuhiwa Noserider Model
Bing Surfboards USA

Hoffman Collection
Blackburn, page 130



1966
Weber Hatchet Fin  
Dewey Weber Surfboards : Performer.

Surfer, May 1966, Volume 7 Number 2, page 14.


Surfer
, Volume 7 Number 3, July 1966, page 1.
1966
Hobie Interchangeable Fin
 
Fin "A" (easy turn fin) - the board will turn easier with less effort, especially good for small surf and the surfer who turns a little further forward on his board.

Fin "B" (standard HOBIE)
- good all-around fin which gives good positioning for conditions not suiting Fins "A" or "C."

Fin "C" (speed fin) - this fin is not correctly named, as it does not enable the board to go faster, nor does it make the board slower.
The speed fin allows for more powerful turns from further back positioning on the board.
This is an excellent fin for larger waves
and whip turns.
Further experimentation may be carried out by reshaping any one of the above fins.


1966
Hobie Bolt-Thru 
Molded Polypropylene
10 x 10 b @ 1 inches ??? (Approximation)
Removable fin that is fixed by a bolt in the deck.
Precursor to to Tuttle Sailboard fin box system.
Corky Carroll Flexible Model
Hobie Surfboards USA

1966
da Cat fin
Molded ABS
8 x 8 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)
Micki Dora da Cat Model
Greg noll Surfboards, USA
Base tounge and indent to lock into corresponding fin box.

C. R. Steck Collection
Photograph : Douglas Congdon-Martin
Schiffer  page 58



1966
Dunlop replaceable fin and slot-box.


Vary the fin to different surfs.
Remove it for easy transportation.
Fin is held firmly in position with specially designed nylon  slot attachment.

Surfing World

Volume 8, Number 4, November, 1966

1966
Greenough
Laminated fibreglass
10' x 8" base
Velo SS MKII fin 1966. 10' x 8" base 
Photograph? and Notes: Paul Gross: 
"Far-out Flexible Surfboard
- Wave of the Future ?
The Australian Surfer's Journal
Volume 1 No 4 Spring1998 page 18.

1966
Midget Farrelly Fathead
12 1/2" x 8" base @ 7 1/2'', 
Laminated fibreglass.

Catalogue #00000350
Photograph by Garry Crockett, with thanks.

Midget was supplying a variation on this design in 1995.
See below.
 



1966
Wedge Special Kneeboard
California

1967
Greenough
Laminated fibreglass
Dimensions?
Surfboard flex fin 1967.
Board shaped?/ridden by Danny Hazard. 
Photographs : Al Lees,
Notes : George Greenough.
Moving Forward
A Greenough Scrapbook : 1960 - 1970
The Australian Surfer's Journal
Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 1999 page 73.

1967
UFO
Laminated fibreglass
12 x 7 b @ 5 inches  (Approximation)
Rick Surfboards, USA

Photo: Don Balch 
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December
page 70


1967 
G &S High Performance (Skip Frye)
Gordon and Smith Surfboards, USA.
With much experimenting and testing with the fin, the High Performance low area fin evolved.
In March, it made it's debut on the Skip Frye Model and was available at no extra cost on most of our other boards.

Surfer, November 1967, Volume 8 Number 5, page 4.

1967 
G &S Hy-Performance (Mike Hyson)
Gordon and Smith Surfboards, USA
- thanks to Paul D. Gross
Laminated fibreglass
11 1/2 x 11 b @ 9 1/2  inches 
 # 26
Gordon and Smith (Australia) Vee Bottom


1967 
G &S : Bobby Brown Stingerless
Gordon and Smith Surfboards, Caringbah

1967
F fin 
Laminated fibreglass
12 x 4 b @ 9 inches  (Approximation)
Richard Harvey (Crusader Model?)
Ron Wade Surfboards ? 

Richard Harvey interview
Surfing World Volume 11 Number 1 1968

Margan and Finney, page 167


1967
Eliminator fin 
Laminated fibreglass
12 x 7 b @ 6 inches  (Approximation)
Eliminator Model
Greek Surfboards   USA


1967
Eliminator by Greek- Hatchet fin 


1967
Greenough Stage III ? 
Multi-colour fibreglass laminate
13 1/2 x 8 b @ 9 1/2  inches
 
George Rice Surfboards
Stringer-less V-Bottom
7ft 8" x 24"
Pod:  16"


1967
Greenough Stage III ? 
Fabric laminate
 
Kenn Surfboards, Gary Birdsall shape.

Although the board is probably from 1966, this fin appears to be a later replacement, hence dated 1967.

Note the deep rail-lap cut.


1967
Greenough Stage III
Floral fabric laminate
 
Hawke Surfboards, Western Australia.
Stringer-less V-Bottom, marked LP4149.




1967
Fins Unlimited  Fin and Finbox
The f
irst version of Fins Unlimited 
(with Chase Parker Bahne, 1967) removable moulded fin and fin box
The fin is fixed by a rear bolt only.

11'' x  10'' base x 12'' span @ 9.5'' .



Surfer
, July 1967, Volume 8 Number 3, page 21.
1967
Fin Foil
Karl Ekstrom Co., La Jolla, California.

It'll turn your board into a Noserider!

The FIN-FOIL* lifts the nose for noseriding • it stabilises the board for powering through soup • it can be adjusted to the degree of noseriding you prefer • it has rounded edges for the greatest safety • made of high temper aluminum, anodised in a mellow gold finish for durability against weathering • foils can be easily removed • comes complete with solid brass fittings and easy instructions for attaching.   Only $8.50.


1968
Wonder Bolt and fin box
Weber Surfboards, USA.



1968
Nose-Lifter by Surf Reseach
Mike Doyle - Rusty Miller

International Surfing
January 1968
Volume 3 Number 6, page ?

Surf Research was Californian company producing a range of products from the mid-1960s, including their coloured and scented surf wax, Waxmate
The principals were Garth Murphy, Mike Doyle, and Rusty Miller.
Doyle and Miller were outstanding surfers,with substantial competitive careers and regularly appearing in magazines.
At the end of 1960s the Californian company was sold and Mike Doyle relocated to Mexico, Rusty to Kauai, and Garth Murphy emigrated to Australia where he marketed Waxmate from a post box in Byron Bay, circa 1970.
In the early 1970s, Rusty Miller and his wife Tricia Shantz also relocated to Australia and they currently reside in Byron Bay.
Rusty contributed to John Witzig's ground breaking Tracks and featured in the Bali sequences of Albert Falzon's The Morning of the Earth.

1968
Greenough
Laminated fibreglass
Dimensions?
Surfboard flex fin 1968. 
Board shaped by George Greenough,
ridden by Terry Keys. 
Probably Wilderness Surfboards. 
Photograph and Notes : George Greenough, The Australian Surfer's Journal
Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 1999 page 72.

1968
Greenough Stage III ? 
Dappled fibreglass laminate
13 1/2 x 8 b @ 9 1/2  inches
#107
WM Surfboards Pin Tail Vee Bottom


1968 
Greenough Stage III ? 
Dappled fibreglass laminate
Wallace Surfboards.


Note leg-rope hole and the fin tip has been worn down by riding the board through wet sand in shallow water.


1968 
Finger fin
Fibreglass laminate
9 x 6 1/2 b @ 9 1/2  inches
#111
Scott Dillon Pin tail
Probably not the original fin.


1968 
Wide-base fin
Dave Jackman Plastic Machines (Surfboards)
Auckland, New Zealand.
Dappled fibreglass laminate
Deep-vee pintail
 

1968 
Butterfly fin by Scott Dillon
Fibreglass laminate
Estimation: 9 x 6 1/2 b @ 9 1/2  inches

Scott Dillon convex bottom, ridden by Dr. Robert Spence.
Also tested by Nat Young and Bob Kennerson

Surfing World 
Volume 10 Number 4, 
March-April 1968, page 43. 


1968
Flex fin
Fibreglass laminate
10 1/2 x 9 1/2 b x 15 s @ 10  inches
#303
Hayden Surfboards Pin tail
Internal rovings.


1968
[Bennett Surfboards]: WaveSet Advertisement
Look for a precision tolerance injection molded fin box bonded into the board with resin and glass.
Look for two 10-24 stainless steel flat head socket cap screws which secure the molded ABS or poly fin into the board.
Look for an interchangeable molded fin by
Greenough, Yater, Bing.
Look for an interchangeable fin system that offers 30 combinations of shape, color and flex.
Or just insist on W.a.v.e. Set .. and save time looking.

Colors: Red, Blue, Black, Clear, Blue-Black, Blue-Yellow, Red-Yellow.

Designs: Greenough Stage III, Yater #2, Bing #1, O'Neill #1

W.a.v.e. Set
A product of Water Apparatus and Vechicular Engineering Corporation
188 Harbord Road Brookvale

Surfing World
September 1968, Volume 11 Number 3 page.

Clear as the sea around us!

Introducing our Phase III mini fin.
Designed to allow controlled tail drift and radical nose rides.
It measures 6" deep, has an area of 22 square inches and weighs 150 grams.
It too is made of transparent Lexan.

1968
Fins Unlimited Advertisement
:

Here they are.
Six totally new color additions to the Fins Unlimited Line.
Clear as crystal.
With colors of the rainbow.
More beautiful than anything that has come before.
Made from a unique transparent plastic called Lexan.
So strong it virtually defies breakage, more durable than any fin on the market today.
But beyond its uniqueness and beauty ... a function in design.
Functionally designed.
Designed to compliment the riding capabilities of contemporary surfboard design.
Designed to fulfil your most crucial demand.
We offer these fins with our removable fin assembly, consisting of a high strength channel bonded into the surfboard into which the fin is held securely by a nylon crosspin in the front and a 1/4" 20 stainless steel socket head bolt in the rear — Combined win a tacking taper to eliminate all play in the assembly.
We create so that you may be creative.

Fins Unlimited
PO Box 161, Del Mar, California.

Surfer
, Volume 9 Number 5 page 35, November 1968.

1968
The Removable

A revolutionary detachable fin system by Atlas/Woods.
Removable bolt-on fins in translucent colours, opaque black, or clear I.P.C.
Atlas/Woods Surfboards
Wairau Road, Tapapuna, Auckland, 9.
Depth: 11"
Base
: 10"

Camber: 13"
Area: 40 in. (squared)
Weight: 14 1/2 oz.

See: Allan Byrne : Puerto Rico.
Surfing New Zealand
Volume 1 Number 1 December 1968
.
Probably the Fins Unlimited design above.


1969
WaveSet: G &S Hy-Performance (Mike Hyson)
Bennett Surfboards.

Reportedly: At some point the fin was broken in half and been glued back together.

1969
Waveset: Skipp Frye's New-e-free fins
Waveset fin box (?)
 
Surfing, circa 1969, page 31. 

1969
Greenough Stage III  - Wave Set 
Laminated fibreglass , Dimensions?
Moulded: tapered wedge base, fixed by two screws, into nuts set in the moulded box. 
Greenough Stage IV by Wave Set Fins, circa 1970. 
Photograph : George Greenough, Notes : Paul Gross

Australian Surfer's Journal

Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 1999 page 73.


1969 
S.A.F.E Set Fin Systems
The fin is the most important part of a surfboard.
All manoeuvres are dependent on the fin for successful surfing.
A fin moved forwards or backwards a small distance will alter the performance of the board.
S.A.F.E. set fin systems have now introduced after many months of testing a sliding fin system.
Now for the first time it is possible for you to experiment by moving the fin forward or backwards to suit yourself.
See for yourself the difference fin positions make to your surfing by ordering one on your next board.

S.A.F.E. set fin systems, clear or coloured, shatterproof, replaceable poly-carbonate fins.
19 Sydenham Road Brookvale  93 6699.

Surfing World Volume 12 Number 1 1969.
The address was the same as Keyo Surfboards.

1969 
Safe Set Fin (Large) and Box 
Moulded Plastic
11  x 8 1/2 b @ 10  inches
#69
Keyo Tracker


1969 -1970
Waveset The Finger Fin 
Moulded Plastic 

Decal image forwarded by Robyn, with thanks, April 2014.

1969
Safe Set Fin (Small) and Box
Moulded Plastic
8 1/2 x 7b @ 9 1/2?  inches
Possibly re-shaped
#67
Surf Design Mini Gun
Dick van Straalen


1969
Warped SafeSet or Wave Set Fin
Moulded Plastic Bill Wallace Surfboards.



1969
Thomas H. Morey and Karl D. Pope III:
Patent: Surfboard with removable skeg, 21 January 1969.

Note Numbers 17-19: appears to be for a similar design to the Wonder Bolt system.



1969
Farrelly Surfboards


1969
Farrelly Surfboards: Speed fin.

1969
Egg Pivot Fin
8 1/2 x 4 1/2  b @ 5 inches
#45
Geoff McCoy Egg
Keyo Surfboards

#45, Keyo egg fin
1969
Side Slipper  Fin and Box
8 3/4''  x 6'' b @ 6 1/2  inches
Molded black plastic
Notched Fin box with plastic clip lock
#217
Side Slipper
Keyo Surfboards

1969
Adjustable fin and fin box with fore and rear locking clips.
Burfrord Surfboards, South Australia.
Contributed, with thanks by Mike Brown, Adelaide, January 2007.
Mike noted
The Burford fin box and fin has no stampings.
I reckon Don had these made up.
My Arnold/Lynch boards which have the same set-up are identical,
but some fins have 'Made in Australia', others haven't
.




Surfer,
Volume 10 Number 4, September 1969.

1970
Greenough Stage IV: VWS- Variable Wave Set Fin and Box

Adjustable (two screw) George Greenough Stage IV by WaveSet.
Images thanks to snazzy, January 2019.




Click for large version.

1970
Vari-Set by Waveset Fins,

Newport Paipo Boards, California
, 1970

1970
Adjustable Fin and slotted wedge fin box.
Fin : 8 1/2" x 6''b x 9 1/2'' span 
Black, molded "glass filled nylon".
Rear post-production legrope hole.
Finbox : 12'' @ 5 1/2''
Image below.
When new, the system used several plastic locking clips that filled the exposed section, see above.
The fin and box probably manufactured by Simplex Fins, South Australia.
Advertising image and text below.
Probably copied from a Waveset (USA) design circa 1968.
The design was short lived and was replaced with the universally adopted Bahne box.

1970
Simplex I Fin system.
"No bolts, keys or any hardware.
So simple, the fin can be changed in seconds.
The precision box allows 
six positions over a five inch adjustment span.
Three fin shapes in glass filled nylon, 
colours green, blue, red, yellow, white and black.
SIMPLEX Fin Systems
142 Gawler Place, Adelaide, 5000 Phone 23 5505"
Surf International
Volume 3 Number 3, circa 1970, page 2.

   1970
Simplex II Fin system.
SIMPLEX Fin Systems
142 Gawler Place, Adelaide, 5000 Phone 23 5505"
Surf International
Volume 3 Number 3, circa 1970, page 2.

Ad: Tracks, May 1971.



1970
Simplex Fin system with box-plugs.


Fat Albert - John Arnod Surfboards, Adelaide. SA.
 JA's low cost pop-out model, similar to the Shane Standard and the Wallace Junior.
One example:
5'6" x 20" x 3" in yellow pigment and unusually  fitted with a Simplex fin-box with box-tabs, said to be an idea of Wayne Lynch.

1970
D fin - Coolite Timber Adaption.
Timber

1970
Greenough Stage IV  - Wave Set 
Moulded, Dimensions?
Segmented base that slotted into a moulded box and fixed by clips. 
See Twin fin I 1971, below..
Greenough Stage IV by Wave Set Fins, circa 1970. 
Photograph : George Greenough, Notes : Paul Gross
A Greenough Scrapbook : 1960 - 1970
The Australian Surfer's Journal
Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 1999 page 73.

1970
Guidance Fin System : Twin fin I 
Unknown construction
5 x 7 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)
Note the symmetric foil.

Photo: Don Balch
LONGBOARD Magazine
Vol 4 No 5.  1996
November/December  page 70
 


Paul D. Gross reports, with thanks...
Guidance System fin boxes circa 1970.
A copy of Wave Set's adjustable system using a segmented or notched base with the fin held by moulded plastic clips.
Both systems were to be rapidly replaced by the Fins Unlimited ( Bahne) system, circa 1971."



1970
Keyo Twin fin in  Fin-boxes

Below:
Fin-box and Fin Tabs on the base.

1970
Bill Barnfield's Fins Unlimited Finbox
The design rapidly becomes an industry standard, and is still in use in modern Malibu boards and sailboards.

1970
WaveSet: Hollow Greenough IV

Surfer
: First Annual End of the World Issue.
Volume 11 Number 2 page 2, May 1970
and page 9:


Keyo Surfboards: Fin Box
 


   
1970
Twin Fin 1
Fibreglass
a. Ron Wade Surfboards
b. Peter Clarke Surfboards

Note:
Both boards have holes drilled through the fins for attaching a leg-rope.
The difference in the fin shapes
The unusual scooped-chamfered tail on the Clarke, regularly used on wide tail vee-bottoms in 1967-1968.


# 45 Farrelly script '69
1970
Twin Fin 1
Fibreglass
Left : 6 1/4  x 4 b @ 5 1/2 inches.
Right : 6 3/4  x 4 b @ 5 1/2 inches.
Clear laminate with fin patch
High aspect Greenough
Toed in to nose, but tip-out not symmetric, probably due to non-expert repairs
Note the fins, probably original, have been heavily damaged, possibly trimed and reinforced.
#134
Farrelly Surfboards

Farrelly
230 Harbord Road, Brookvale 2100, NSW, Phone 939-1724. 

This is the first removable, sliding fibreglass fin unit in Australia.
It can be found on Farrelly surfboards, Midget has always preferred glass 
fins refusing to install substitutes and he has this patented system that will
revolutionize fin systems all over the world.
This fin system is installed in new boards at no extra cost.

Surfing World 
Volume 13 Number 5, circa May-June 1970, page 39


1970
Farrelly Fin and Finbox

 

 
1971
WaveSet II - fin and box, and clips.
Images courtesy of Bob Groves and Alex Williams, 2018.

Alex noted:
Thought you might appreciate these shots of WAVE set MK 11 from 1971? ish.
They where from a UK board maker Bob Groves who shaped boards and blew foam from mid 60’s on.
Now in his mid 80’s he is passing on some of the things that have been stored for years
.


WaveSet clips.

The clips helped to lock the fin in the base and they closed the gap,
theoretically to reduce turbulence.


1971
Surf ski fin and fin box
Fin features a segmented base that slots into a molded box, and clicks back to lock.
This example is missing the plastic clips that close the slot. 
Australian version of the Guidance Fin System - see above.
Molded plastic.
5 1/2'' x 6'' b x 0'' span @ n/a inches 
Symmetric foil.

Image right - male notched fin base.
Close up fin base,
note MADE IN AUST.

Fin box 12 inches.
Image left -  molded female box
Close up of slots in fin box.


1971
Fins Unlimited:
Vari-glass
Channel and Twin-fin Channels

Glass fins and other good things from the people who make Bahne Surfboards.

Surfer

March 1971
Volume Number page 4.


1971
Fins Unlimited:
There are two types of fiberglass fin.
The laminated, hand-foiled custom, and the molded Vari-glass.

We make both. Why?
The laminated, hand-shaped, fiberglass fin allows us to experiment with new shapes, foil sections and flex patterns before the fin is put into production, using Vari-Glass, a high-strength, fiberglass-reinforced polycarbonate resin.
Using Vari-Glass, we are able to duplicate exactly, with an injection molding process, all of the optimum design features found through experimentation with the laminated, hand-shaped fiberglass fin.
The laminated, hand-shaped fiberglass fin also allows the board designer more freedom in tuning a fin shape with experimental and custom order boards.
All of this goes along with our idea of having a truly variable fin unit.
Infinitely variable in placement with our Vari-Set channel or Vari-Set twin-fin channel, and infinitely variable fin shapes, foil and flex.

Surfer
August 1971 Volume 12 Number 3 page 6.

1971
Reno Abellira : Tri-fins.


"The three-fin boards are a product of the consciousness inspired by the twin-fin, but there were other inspirations too: porpoises."

Surfer
August 1971 Volume 12 Number 3

1971
Greenough Stage IV
Fibreglass laminate 
 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 b @ 6 inches
#44
Hutchinson Surfboards

1971
Twin Fin 1
Red pigment chop stand mat, 
5 3/4 x 4  b @ 4 inches
Tipped, Toed, note standard symmetric foil.
#71
Walsh Surfboards, Narrabeen.

1971 
Twin fin I 
Multi colour laminate fibreglass
7 x 4 b @ 4 inches (approximation)
#106
Pat Morgan Surfboards


1971 
Twin fin I 
Multi colour laminate fibreglass
6 x 4 b @ 4 inches (approximation)
Shane Surfboards

1971 
Twin fin I
Terry Fitzgerald Design

Multi colour laminate fibreglass
6 x 4 b @ 4 inches (approximation)
Shane Surfboards


1971 
Twin fin I 
Multi colour laminate fibreglass
7 x 4 b @ 4 inches (approximation)
McGriggor Surfboards

1971
Tri fin
Laminated fibreglass
Centre fin : 5 layer laminated fibreglass
8 1/2  x 6 b @ 4 1/2 inches
Side fins : 5 layer laminated fibreglass
3/4  x 2 b @ 6 1/2 inches .
Note the rail fins' asymmetric foil.
#211
Shaped by Dan Calohan , Plastic Fantastic Surfboards, USA.

1971
Tri fin
Three way fibreglass laminate 
Single fin fixed in internal fin box.
8 x 6 b @ 5 inches 
Two wide base side fins 
2 1/2 x 2 1/2 b @ 8 inches 
#9
Bob McTavish Tri Fin
Bennett Surfboards

1971
Internal fin box.
Fibreglass laminate 
Single fin fixed in internal fin box. 
Barry Bennnett Surfboards, circa 1971.

Estimated : 8 x 6 b @ 5 inches 
Photograph Sydney Surf Auction, 
Mona Vale  Hotel, 
Sydney, 25 - 26 September 2003 
Catalogue No. 20 
Thanks to Mick Mock. 



1972
Internal fin box.
Fibreglass laminate 
Single fin fixed in internal fin box- base plug?

Shane Surfboards, Brookvale, circa 1972.

Note
the stress marks in base of the fin, and that the board was later fitted with a leg-rope plug.

1972
Internal fin box.
Fibreglass laminate 
Single fin fixed in internal fin box- base plug?

Egan Surfboards, Newcastle, circa 1972.
Shaped by Peter Cornish

Note the hole for a leg-rope and the stress marks in front of the fin

1971 Pat Morgan Keel Fin
Three way laminated fibreglass, 5 x 10 b @ 1 1/2 inches (estimation)
Image, with thanks, by Darren Johnston.
4.75'' x 26 " base @ 0''
TRACKS
March 1973 Number 30 page 29 (?).

Design: Pat Morgan Pintail Keel 7ft 7'',  Finlength: 24'' (?)
Twin Keel 6ft 2'' x 20'', Fin length: 21'' (?)

1971
Tri fin
Fibreglass laminate 
Single fin  8" x 6" base @ 5 1/2 inches and two rail fins
- blue laminate 
Possible post production?
Bob Cooper Surfboards: Summergun

 


1972 
Pat Morgan  Keel fins

Thanks to Snazzy, 2020.

1972 
Pat Morgan  Keel fin , (second generation?)
Three layer laminate,
white , mauve, white
 9'' x 13 3/4'' base x 0'' span. @ 3''
Thin with light foil on trailing edge.

1972 
Pat Morgan  Keel fin , (second generation?)
Two layer laminate,
white and mauve
10'' x 14'' base x 0'' span. @ 3'' (estimated)
Thin with light foil on trailing edge.
Image supplied by George of Geelong, November 2009.


1972 
Fins Unlimited: an evolving system
Surfing like everything else is a constantly evolving medium.
During the past 6 years of surfing's evolution, Fins Unlimited has perfected fin systems that have opened new areas of the wave.

After all, the fin is the key.
It holds you in trim, creates a pivot point for turning and affords directional stability and speed.
And what seems more logical than being able to interchange foil design, outline, depth and the flexibility of your board's fin to wave conditions, as well as adjusting fin position forward and aft for fine performance tuning.
For a fin system as variable as the ocean environment, insist on Fins Unlimited, the variable interchangeable fin system.

Cheer Critchlow #6 4A surfer designer has plugged into the evolution of Fins Unlimited.
 Fins Unlimited PO Box 375-F Encinitas California 92024 (???) 753-8847

Surfer
August 1972 v13n3 page2.



1973
Keel fin
Laminated fibreglass
4'' x 24'' base x 0'' span @ 0''


1971
Tri fin
Fibreglass laminate 
Single fin  8" x 6" base @ 5 1/2 inches 
- green laminate 
Post production two wide base side fins
2 1/2" x 2 1/2"  @ 12 1/4 inches - white.

1972
Tri fin
Fibreglass laminate 
Single fin, with legrope hole.
8 x 4 b x 8 span @ 5 inches (estimated) 
Two wide base side fins 
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 b @ 13 inches (estimated) 

Dolphin Surfboards
South Australia?
-probably not a professional manufacturer.

Image emailed by George from Adelaide, October 2008.


1972 
Rubber fin 
6 1/2 x 4 1/2 b @ 8 inches 
 Fixed through board with wedges, shown.
#34
Coolite
Midget Farrelly Surfboards


1973
Three colour laminated fin
Barry Bennett
  Spoon-deck knee-board: 4ft 11".
Resin
glue line stringer, full orange tint, Number 7302.
See #68.

1973 
Fins Unlimited Finbox.


Don't get stuck with one fin in one place!
Tim Lynch, Gordon and Smith Surfboards (detail)
Fins Unlimited, Encinitas, California.

See:
The Bonzer
.

Surfer
, Volume  14 Number 3, page 4.
September 1973.
 


1973 
Bonzer fins
See:
The Bonzer
.

Surfer
, Volume  14 Number 3
September 1973.

1973 
Bonzer fins
Bing Surfboards, California.
Campbell Brothers


1973 
Semi-Keel
Phil Grace Surfboards,
Seaford, Victoria.

1973 
Pipeliner fin
Plastic moulded fin in fin box for a juvenile board, approximately 5ft  4''.
No dimensions.

Fin image forwarded by Sammy S., October 2011.



1974 
Twin-fin Fish 
Gordon and Smith Surfboards, California, USA.



1974 
Bonzer fins
Original design by Cambell Bros. USA
Centre fin : black and clear laminate
7 1/2  x 5 1/2  b @ 6'' 
Bonzer / Keel fins :  blue/white/blue laminate
2 x 9 1/2 b @ 12'' 
#180
South Coast Surfboards


1974 
Nat Young
Bennett Surfboards

  1974 
Long-base Keel fin

Bruce McKean Surfboards
Mooloolaba, Queensland.

Free Flight Surfboards
Ballina NSW
Phil Myers


Estimated: 8'' x 12.5'' base x 0'' span. @ 3.5''




1974 
Klemm-Bell Surfboards Bonzer

#25 McCoy/Brewer fin
1974 
Weber S/b Bonzer
Centre fin box : 8 inch @ 4 1/2''
Centre fin : 
Moulded wide base, thick profile, rear fin tab. 
7 1/2 x 5 1/2  b @ n/a inches
Bonzer / Keel fins :  2 1/2" x 9 1/2'' base @ 9''
 Not toed in, parrallel to stringer.
Tipped out at 45 degrees
Thin, not foiled.
Clear laminated.
#198
Weber Surfboards, USA


1974 
Skipp Surfboards, Wollongong
Bonzer


1974
Bonzer
Centre fin: 10" x 6" base

Goodtime Surfboards: Scooped-deck Knee-board
Shaped by Brian Austin
5'6'' X 22''

1974
Mike Hynson Dolfin
Fibreglass and decoration
8 x 8 b @ n/a inches  (Approximation)
USA
Base tongue at rear

C. R. Steck Collection
Photograph : Douglas Congdon-Martin
Schiffer  page 59



1974
Dick Brewer Wide Base

Dick Brewer Surfboards



 
1974
Dick Brewer Wide Base by Fins Unlimited




See:
1974 Fins Unlimited
: Designs by Downing, Hynson, and Brewer.
Advertisements from Surfer April-May and August-September 1974.
 


1974
Jackson Swallow-tail Spooned-deck Kneeboard
Hand shaped laminated fin in fin-box.
See: Jackson Surfboards


1975
Semi-Keel
Phil Grace Surfboards,
Seaford, Victoria.

1975 Phil Grace 7ft 2" x 20" x 3.5" swallow tail, yellow tint, rail lap, textured deck, semi-keel fin.
The swallow tail is scooped; while the fin
has no leg-rope hole there appears to be remnants of a leg-rope bridge on the tail.
The owner suggested It was built in the mid 1970's for a surfer heading of to Mauritius, as this shape went well in the quality hollow waves back then.


1975 
Carabine Kneeboard Fin & Aluminium fin box 
Fin : 8'' x 3 1/2'' base x 10'' span @ n/a
Aluminium fin box 15 1/2''
Advertisement: The Modern Aluminium Sliding Fin Box
by Pete and Geoff's House of Surfing (Geoff Wakefield Surfboards)
5 Good Street, Granville NSW.
Phone 682-1420.
Surfing World Volume 22 Number 1, October 1975.

Dimensions and photographs at:
Surf's Up At Gerringong Board Display, August 2005. 
Thanks to Scott Andrews 


1975
Terry Fitzgerald Design: P/N TF.1
PO Box 93 Byron Bay NSW Australia 
Hot Buttered Surfboards, Brookvale.
Height: 8''




#58 Crozier Tri fins 1975
Crozier Kneeboard Fin (Copy) & Flex tail
Copy: Donkey Dick Fin (NZ) 

8'' x 3.5'' base x 10'' span @ n/a ???
Fin box  15.5'' ???
 
Photograph supplied with thanks by David Smythe, New Zealand January 2006.

In April 2018, Charles Carter noted:
The yellow and pink fin was shaped by me! I had Roger Titcombe cut
it from a blank using a template of the rather damaged original that came with the board. The fin shape was referred to as a Donkey Dick back in the day. (edited)


1975
 Mark Warren
Plastic, Box Fin
Made in Byron Bay MW1
18mm




1975
Simon Anderson Power-board (Moulded) Fin 
Moulded plastic, 8'' x 3 1/2'' base x 6'' span @ n/a ??? [estimation]
Four screws into recessed fin box.

Top of moulded fin-box, identification and leg-rope plug.
See #381.


1975
Mike Hynson Wings Fins

5.5" base  x 6.5"
6.25"
base x 7.5" +29% area
6.5"
base   x 8.25" + 59% area

Burlington fiberglass and Reichold resin ...
Hand foiled by a veteran crew.


By Rax Works Inc, Encinitas, California.

International Surfing
v11 n6
December-January 1975
page 4.


1976
Laminated plywood

Ocean Foil Surfboards, Victoria.

1976 
Pat Morgan Keel Twin fin
Laminated plywood
5" x 8" b @ 2 inches 

1976 
Dick Brewer Wide base
Blue laminated fibreglass
8 x 5 1/2 b @ 7 inches 
#25
McCoy Surfboards


1976 
Slotted Single Fin
Blue laminated fibreglass
McPherson Surfboards, Angourie, NSW.
Michael Cundith  influence, see Twin Fins below.


1976
Wakefield Aluminium Fin Box
Pete and Geoff (Wakefield)'s House of Surfing
5 Good Street Granville NSW
(02) 682-1420

Surfing World April 1976 Volume 23 Number 1 - Back cover.

The company manufactured Geoff Wakefield Surfboards and 
Saltwater Surfboards.
They also produced
Skateboards and the aluminium fin box.
They also
marketed a range of surf-wear under the Saltwater label and subsequently moved to Parramatta and the Central Coast.

Also see 1974 Carabine Kneeboard Fin above.

1976
Ashley Spoon Flex Fin.
Ashley
Surcrafts, later Ashley Kneeboards.
17 Anderson Street, Torquay, Victoria.


1976
Surf Leash Bolt
California Foam, Tarzana, California.
A fin bolt with a hole in the head to attach a leg-rope, or leash.

Note this was specifically for US designs where the fin tab was at the rear of the fin, whereas in Australia the tab was at the front of the fin.

International Surfing

Volume 12 Number 3,
June-July 1976, page 14.


1976
Shaun Tomson and Single Fin Quiver.

International Surfing

Volume 12 Number 3,
June-July 1976, page 65.

1977
Mark Richards' Twin fin II
Three colour laminated fibreglass
6 x 5  b @ 7 inches.
Mark Richards Surfboards, Byron Bay.
#40




1977
Kneeboard Flex Fin
Crozier Surfboards, Mona Vale NSW

Note the fin tab is at the rear of the fin, unusual for Australia.

Following its brief period of popularity in the early 1970s, the twin-fin retained some enthusiasts and the design continued to be refined.
By 1976, the asymmetric foil, with the flat on the inside, had become the accepted format for twin-fins, and was later applied to the rail fins on three-fin boards, notably Simon Anderson's Thruster, see below.
Regardless of technical considerations, given the three possible options setting the foil, this method is the most aesthetically pleasing.

1977
Michael Cundith Slotted Twin fin II
Estimate - 6 x 5  b @ 7 inches
Sky Surfboards, Byron Bay.
Photograph : Don Blach.
Surfer Magazine, June 1978.
Volume 19 Number 2 page 62.

1978
Michael Cundith Slotted Twin fin II
Estimate - 6 x 5  b @ 7 inches
Sky Surfboards, Byron Bay.


1979
1 + 3: Single in Finbox, Side fins with Trailing Fin
Gold Coast Surfboards
Queensland
???




1979
Star Systems Twin fins,
Mark Richards Model
Gordon and Smith Surfboards (USA)

Surfing May 1979.
Volume 15 Number 5, page 9.


1978
Butterfly Fin
Molded plastic
Fin box.
6 x 5  b @ n/a inches???
Honey Surf, Gerringong NSW
Previous version  Velsy-Jacobs Surfboards, USA circa 1955.
#73 No.1
Gordon and Smith Lazor Zap


1979
Wide base single fin.
Hot Buttered Surfboards
Flyer pintail, Designed by Terry Fitzgerald

1979
Asymmetric Twin Fins
Chris Brock and Bob McTavish at Sky Surfboards:
The fins can be set (asymmetric) or moved and down the boxes depending on wave size and wave conditions.

Tracks, April 1979, page 39.

Presumably set up for a natural-footer, the backhand fin is at the front of the fin-box.


1979
Twin Fin Boxes
Bob Copper Surfboards, Coffs Harbour.


1980
Twin Fin Boxes
Aleeda Surfboards, 6ft double flyer pintail, Mark Warren/Multi Fins.



1980
Michael Anthony Channel Power Twin-fin
Springer Surfboards
.

1980
Peter Drouyn Asymmetric Twin Fins 
Photograph : Jeff Hornbaker.
Surfing Magazine
September 1980
Vol 19 Number 9 Page 87

1980
X fin 
Scott Bucknell, 
Race Surfboards, Hawaii
Photo:Jim Russi
FROM WHERE?
Bill Barnfield http://www.ragingisle.com (noted Hawaiian shaper - ) emailed in December 2005...
The X-Fin was created by Scott Bucknell of Race Surfboards in Haleiwa, Hawaii.
He had a shop on Kam highway across from mine for a long time but not anymore, but he still lives in the area.


1980
Twin fin boxes
Knee-board: Crozier Surfboards

   
1980
Adhesive Trailing Fin on Twin-fin
Plastic

Sky Surfboards, shaped by  Darryl Bulger.


1980
Jet-wing Twin Fins.
Earth Rise Kneeboards
Steve Artis



  
1980
Shorline (Twin) Fin.
Height: 5.5"
Base: 3"

Australian Made


1980
Surf Lock T Fin Thing
Distributor: Chris Beacham.


Tracks, September 1980, page 10.
Photo and review: Martin Tullemens



1981
WaveLink Variable Fin Lock System
Fine tune your board to changing wave conditions instantly.
Change position of your fin on the beach, or in the water, with a simple twist
improve your surfing performance and increase your water time.
Made with glass reinforced nylon for strength and durability.

FU- Shorelines Products
Encinitas, California

Surfer
v22 n8 1981 August page 16.

1981
Thruster
laminated fibreglass
Three fins 4.5 x 4.5  b
The rail fins are asymmetrically foiled, as if twin-fins.
Design by  Simon Anderson.
Energy Surfboards, Brookvale.

See:

#95


1981
Drifta  Mk 3 (Tri-fin)
Laminated fibreglass
Centre fin: 7.5 x 4.5  b @ 4.5 inches (estimation)
Rail fins: 2 x 2.5  b @ 8.5 inches (estimation)
Design by Terry Fitzgerald.

Hot Buttered Surfboards, Brookvale.

Reprising the short lived Tri-fin of 1971, see above, note that the Drifta Mk3 rail fins are flat on the outside and foiled on the inside, reversing the common format.
Terry was a smart guy (he went to university) and he did his homework- "technically," this should be the correct foil template for rail fins.


 
1981
DriftaTri-fin with centre fin-box.
Laminated fibreglass.


Note the side or rail fins have the familiar foiling- flat on the inside and foiled on the outside, in contrast with the Drifta Mk III above.
Also note the rail fins are parallel to the stringer and not tipped in.

 
1981
Nat Young Tri-fin.
Centre Fin:Greenough Stage IV by Nat Young
7.75'' x 5'' b x 7.75'' span @ 7.75'' 
Side Fins:
4.75'' x 4.25'' b x 6.25'' span @ 12.25 inches
Note the side fins are set off the rail:
Front @  3.75'' and Rear @ 2.25''

Also in tri-fin format with fin box. - Not shown.


1981
Peter Townend Bi - Fin
Bronzed Aussie Surfboards/
G & S Surfboards
Asymmetrical board template and corresponding asymmetric fin placement.
Surfer Magazine, October 1981 Volume 22, Number 10, page 42.
Photograph : Guy Motil
See:
Peter Townend : Two, Two, Two Boards in One  (Bi-fin.)
SURFING Magazine, June 1981  Volume 17 Number 6  page 27.
Bob McTavish : The Asymmetric Story
Seanotes Magazine, 1978

1981
Tri-fin Adaptation.
Late-1970s single fin with added fin-boxes to update the board to Simon Anderson's new Thruster design.
Probably by a novice surfer, the rail fins are tipped out from the centre line.




1981
Twin-fin with Trailer fin in Box.
Local Knowledge Surfboards
Gold Coast, Queensland.

1981
Omni Fin (Uncredited)
Plastic
Surfer Magazine,October 1981
Volume 22, Number 10, page 43.
Photograph : Michael Hicks
" The Omnifoil consists of a bracket which attaches to the rear of the fin box, and suspends two diamond-shaped foils. These foils may be easily adjusted upward or downward to create tail lift or bite. The upward position makes for a hydrofoil effect, allowing the tail to ride higher in the water. The downward adjustment works in the opposite manner, acting essentially the same as a bigger fin for use in big or choppy waves. The asymmetrical positioning of the foils to enhance certain types of backside and frontside turns, is presently being explored."
Precedent by Mike Dolye & Rusty Miller, circa 1967.

 
1981
Rainbow Twin Fin - Dovetail Fin System
4.5 ounce Foam Twin Fins - no tools or screws necessary!
6" x 5" (b)
Rainbow Fin Company
PO Box 191, Watsonville, California, 95076
Phone: (408) 728-2998


Surfer

Volume 22 Number 11 November 198,
page 29.


1982
O'Fish'l : Composite Surfboard Fin Systems Fin Box
Mike Davis Surfboards, Kiama.

 

circa 1982
MultipleFins (Uncredited)
Laminated fibreglass, fixed and boxed.
Surfing, March, 1990
Volume 26 Number 3, Page 102.

Included in an article titled 
Dubious Achievements :
"Following Simon Anderson's development 
of the thruster in 1981, surfboard 
designers everywhere decided that if three's
to be, four will score, five's no jive, six's the
pick, seven's heaven, eight'll be great..."



1982
Bonzer Tri Fins.
Design by Kent Manning
Bare Nature Surfboards, Byron Bay.


1982
Thruster  with Fin-box.
Design by Terry Bishop
Gordon and Smith Surfboards.
Note the trailing fin is slightly smaller and narrower in the base.





1982
High Velocity Thruster Fins.
Kym Thompson
Water Cooled Surfboards

Tracks
October 1982, page 27.


1982
Jet-wing Thruster Fins.
Energy Surfboards



1983
Jet-wing Thruster Fins.
Nat Young Surf Design

Fixed rail fins - Centre finbox.




1983
Jet-wing Thruster Fins
Daniell Kneeboard


Rail fins in  finboxes - fixed centre fin.

 
1984
Starfin [Winged Keel] 
Molded plastic 
Fin box.
6 x 5  b @ n/a inches???

" developed by Ben Lexcen in 1984, it was my concept (and) his design, we worked on it together." 
(plus date ajustment and update of weblink) 
http://www.cheynehoran.com.au/starfin.asp
- Cheyne Horan, email July 2013., many thanks to Cheyne.

#73 No.2 Gordon and Smith Lazor Zap


1984
Jet-wing Quad Fins.
Ocean Rhythm Surfboards,  Raglan New Zealand.

Image contributed with thanks by Muzza, June 2013..



1984
Jet-wing Tri Fin.
Nat Young Fall Line Surfboards
Shaped by Nat, the period centre fin may be a replacement, six channels.


1984
Col Smith Hydro Three Fins.
Sheely Surfboards
Newcastle
Channel bottom with step-tail


1984
Quad Fins.
Glenn Winton: Sea Flight Surfboards


1985
Quad Fins.
Wave Torque Surfboards

1985
Express Kneeboard Quad or Four Fin.
#206
Following the success of Simon Anderson's Thruster in 1981, several variations in fin placement and size were tried, one being the Four fin by Glen Winton from the Central Coast, NSW circa 1981.
(Nat Young's Fundamentals, page 102). 


1985
Friar Tuck Kneeboard 4 Fin (Quad)
#343
White laminated fibreglass 
5 1/4  x 5 3/4 base x 7 1/2 inch span
Fitted with rear fin cams.
Dion Chemicals 10 inch Fin boxes @ 14 inches.
White laminated fibreglass 
2 1/2  x 3 1/2  base x 4 inch span.
Dion Chemicals 6 1/2 inch Fin boxes 
@ 21 1/2 inches
Fitted with front fin screws - brand?


1986
Swallow tail 4 Fin (Quad)
Liquid Fusion Surfboards
Shaped by Peter Young

1986
Thruster with centre fin box
 
#31


1986
Friar Tuck Kneeboard Twin Fin - 4 Fin (Quad) Boxes
 
White laminated fibreglass

          
1988
Friar Tuck Kneeboard 4 Fin (Quad)
Slotted
White laminated fibreglass


1988
Aragon Kneeboard 5 Fin
Bruce Greig:  Five Fin Fever
Laminated fibreglass: two fixed keel fins and three fins in boxes.




1988
Twin Fin and Trailer Fin in Boxes
Hot Buttered (Surfboards) Kneeboard
Laminated fibreglass fins in boxes.

  1989
Thruster tri-fins by Good-Bad Man

Steve Wilson
Surfboards
Evans Head, NSW.


Multi Fins, Byron Bay

1984
Rail Fin by Multi Fins, Byron Bay
Moulded plastic
4" ... for standard fin box.


 


1984
Wing Fin by Multi Fins, Byron Bay
Moulded plastic
Thruster centre fin for standard fin box.
3.75" x 4" (b)





 
1987
Zip Fin
Moulded plastic
Thruster centre fin by Multifins
Fin box


1987
Turbo Fin
Moulded plastic
Thruster centre fin by Multifins
Fin box.


1987
Ski Fin
Laminated Fibreglassed
Commonly used on wave skis.
Fin box.

 
1987
Ski Fin
Moulded plastic
Thruster centre fin by Multifins
Commonly used on wave skis.
7.5 " Fin box.

1986
Quad Split Wing Assymetric
Moulded plastic by Multifins
Quad fins 
Fin boxes.

Image supplied, with thanks,  by John Mattes, July 2009.


1986
Split Wing Assymetric
Moulded plastic
Thruster side fins by Multifins
Fin box.


1986
Multi Fin Systems
Sticker, courtesy of Snazzy, February 2019.


1987
Morey Boogie : Mach 20 RS with Retractable Skegs

The first-generation Mach 20 RS was considered the top of the Morey Boogie line.
The unique retractable fins could be raised and lowered using the levers on the deck and lock gently into place.
They had plenty of "give" in case they collide with objects, for example rocks or a swimmer.
Advertisements claimed that fins offered 'hard edge control on steep, hollow waves', that one or both could be engaged before takeoff, and that they could also be left up 'for speed and spinners'.

1988 
Fin Cam
Finger adjustable fin screw.


1988
Tri-Fin: Split Centre and Two Cutaways
Glenn Jenkins: Custom Classics Surf Designs
?

Image thanks to Snazzy, January 2019.



1988 
Tri-Wing Fins
Kneeboard by Hot Stuff Surfboards

1988
Strapper Surfboards:
Scooped Deck - Turbo Fins




1989 
Boomerang (tm) Fin
Manly, NSW

Height: 6.25" x 2.75'' (base) x 3'' (span)


1989
Bladz - The Fin Concept
B.M. Surfboards, Gold Coast, Queensland
B. Milch



1989
Skurfer Winged Long-base Keel Fin
??

 
1990
Fin and plug decals.
Town and Country Surfboards, Australia.


1990 
FCS removable fins and plugs

# 81
Channel Islands Surfboards
by Al Merrick



1994
FCS
Mark Richards TFX


1994
Proteck: Power Flex, by Surfco Hawaii.
Flexible leading and trailing edges designed to reduce fin cuts.
Available as Performance (solid core) Power Flex (medium core), and Super Flex (flexible core).


1995
Malibu Tri Fins 
Glassed plywood centre fin. 
All fins boxed.

1995
Midget Farrelly Fathead 
Laminated fibreglass and cloth
Fin box.


1995
Nat Palmer Tear-drop Fin
Laminated fibreglass and cloth
Twin-fins in boxes.
Munro Surfboards

1998 Swivell Fin
Available in four sizes (115,110,100 & 85mm)
 Moulded plastic,  Adjustable Fin Plug.                   



1998
Advanced Steering Systems 
(USA)


1999
Tri-fin with Bonzer keels.
Phil Myers Design: Beach Boy Surfboards
Noted:
7ft 6"? rounded nose, rounded square-tail in (epoxy?) wood laminate with foam core,
Phil Myers recalled the board was shaped for Steve Butterworth (RIP) and originally it had 3 keel fins.


1965
Hatchet fin by Dewey Weber Surfboards
Collectors Edition by Fibre Glas Fin Co.

11x  8"b  (Approximation)
Weber Performer
Dewey Weber Surfboards USA
For fin box.

The Hatchet Fin was designed by Dewey Weber in 1965.
The original template was a massive 18” and was called the Turn Fin, before adopting the name Hatchet Fin.
The design became synonymous with Dewey Weber Surfboards Performer model.


2007
Shredda Steering System
Shredda fin setup, inspired by jet fighters, was designed by Don Smith; a Gold Coast plumber and a former Palm Beach surf shop owner.
https://360guide.info/surfing/shredda-fin-setup.html

Australia's Multi-Keel Surfboard Steering System
Shreeda Surfshop
1395 Gold Coast Highway
Palm Beach Queensland 4221
Australia
Phone +61 755687779
Fax +61 755687778
email: info@shredda.com
web: www.shredda.com

 Image thanks to Snazzy, 2020.


1998
Ex-Fin 
Laminated fibreglass and finboxes.
Race Surfboards, Hawaii.

1999
Tom Wegner 
Laminated fibreglass and timber
Pigmented glass bead
Matching tail block


2000
FCS H2 Fins

FCS H2 Medium Fins Size:
Base: 4.22 in. 107 mm
Depth: 4.65 in. 118 mm
Surface Area: 13.95 in.² 9000 mm²
Sweep: 36.5°
Cant: 10°
Toe Angle: .5°


2000
Honeycomb Core Fin

LSD Surfboards?

  2002
XT Turbo Fins 
Laminated fibreglass
Strapper Surfboards, Torquay.


2004
Turbo Fin
Moulded Lexan  resin
Fin box.
9 1/2'' and 7 1/2'' models
Note Weber Turbo Fin, circa 1966 - above.


2005
McCoy Hatchet S Fin
Geoff McCoy Designs.
Laminated cloth

Fin box.
7'' model


2005
George Greenough Stage 6
True Ames
, USA.
9" with 3.75" base

A deep cutaway
blade fin derived from Greenough's windsurfer designs.

    
2008
Alifin - Rabbit Ear, Butterfly fin.
www.alifins.com.au
Aluminium
Two blades, each 4 1/2'' height  x 4 1/4'' base x 6 1/2'' span.
Depth 4''.
Fin box.
Also avaialble to fit FCS plugs.
9 cm, 10 cm and 12cm models.

Note Velsey Rabbit Ear (circa 1955) and Honey Surf Butterfly Fin (circa 1978) - above.

Image left:
Alifin - Rabbit Ear, Butterfly fin, 2008.


 
2010
Captain Fin Co. Futures Fins
Dane Reynolds Summer Teeth
Thruster set.
Medium size.



2011
Thruster Speed Fin and Plug
USA?


2014
Diamond Fin (format)
John Curby
Noosa, Queensland.

Clearly made for experimental testing; apart from the two central fin-boxes, each rail fin has three sets of FCS plugs to significantly vary the fin toe-in.


2015
Slide Fin
Scott Peberdy
Outereef Surfboards Australia.

http://www.slidefins.com/au/


Slide Fins engage like fixed fins for traditional bottom turn power and drive across the wave.
The fins only fold in one direction, thereby providing a strong tail to build speed.
  
Upon approaching your top turns, the wave pressure shifts to the opposing flexible face of the fins, forcing them to release and fold flat.

With the fins released and folded against the board, you are free to continue your slide maneuvers with low tail resistance.
Surf freestyle and slide like a pro!



2015
Twin Fins
Nicos Surfboards
Ocean Grove, Victoria.
Custombuilt: 8' 11" x 19.5", twin rear fin set up with single side fins.
FCS plugs/compatible.




2010
Asymmetrical Four Fin - design by Peter Downes

A
symmetrical surfboard made by the McTavish crew to my design.
6'6" x 22" x 3"
Unique one off board designed for goofy foots.
Based on experiments that I did back in the 70's, this board works amazingly well backhand and forehand.
The fins on the forehand side are parallel to the stringer, and combined with the diamond tail on the same side, provide great down the line projection when you crank off the bottom.





2015
Simon Anderson FCS Quad Fin


2018
Quobba Fin
Western Australia.
Available as single or double plug - FCS compatible

https://quobbafins.com/


2019
D-fin Finbox
Pieter Surfboards, Newcastle, Australia.

Inserting a standard 10" fin-box in the rear of the board, and grinding off the one end of the box, facilitates easy fitting for long based D fins and allows it to be set right at the pod.

Contributed by Pieter, June 2019.
http://pieter.com.au/




2020
Various Types of Fin Plugs
Thanks to Snazzy, 2020.

the fins of george greenough
sailboard fin catalogue
home catalogue history references appendix

References
1. John Kelly : Surf and Sea  pages 120-124
2. Uncredited: Malibu Fin Appendix, in SURFER Magazine, Vol 17 No 2. 1976 June/July
3. Uncredited: Time Machines, in SURFING Magazine, Vol 25  No 2. 1989 February
4. Paul Holmes: The fin - that which drives us, in LONGBOARD Magazine, Vol 4 No 5.  1996
    November/December
5. Mark Fragale: The Morey-Pope Thought Factory, in
    Longboard Magazine Volume 6 No 7 January/February  1999 pages 92 - 99.
6. Paul Gross: Moving Forward - A George Greenough Scrapbook: 1960-19670,
            in The Australian Surfer's Journal  Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 1999 pages 68- 121.
7. Paul Gross: Inventions: Tom Morey, in The Australian Surfer's Journal  Volume 3 No 1 Summer 2000, pages 80 - 89. 

Relevant Definitions

 

HEIGHT  (INCHES)
 

BASE (INCHES)
 
 
 
 
 

SPAN (INCHES)
 

@ (INCHES) FROM TAIL


fin / skeg
stabilizing wing attached to the bottom of the board, usually at the tail.
Dimensions are length (height or depth), base, foil and surface area (sailboards).
First use credited to Tom Blake (Hawaii) circa 1934.
Some commentators also recognize the contribution of Woody Brown and George Downing.

fin area
surface of the fin, usually one side only, rarely quantified for surfboards but often calculated
on modern sailboard fins.

fin base
length where the fin intersects with the board.

fin box
A fabricated structure inserted into the board that allows fin replacement.
Some models allow the fin position to be adjusted.

Apparently there was some experimentation was during the solid wood era. but the most significant application was experiments in the mid-1940's by George Downing and Wally Froiseth in Hawaii.
They made a test board with a removable fin slot and rode it with different fin designs in different positions, and without a fin.
Their conclusion was that the finned board had superior performance, virtually regardless of fin design.
(Kelly, page 121)

The first production models appeared in the early 1960’s in the USA.
Since many boxes were limited to the manufacturers' sole fin design, the impetus to manufacture boxed boards was enhanced by the cost advantages in freighting finless surfboards.
This was certainly a consideration for the larger Californian manufacturers in the mid-1960's, for whom the East coast was a major market.

At first fins were not universally interchangeable as each manufacturer used a different locking system, but in in 1965 Tom Morey  at Morey-Pope Surfboards developed the TRAF system of molded fins, available to a small number of Northern California board makers.
In 1966 the design was improved by the introduction of thr Wonder Bolt system, again by Tom Morey.
In February 1968 Morey introduced the Waveset box and a range of molded fins for general use.
This design was essentially copied by the Safe Set system.
The most popular and significant fin designs were by George Greenough who produced three models - Stage I, III and IV.

In the late 1960's, continuing reductions in board dimensions saw extensive fin design experimentation, with some designers focusing on sideslipping, note Skipp Frye's New-e-free fins, circa 1969.
The original Waveset box was too bulky relative to the smaller boards and circa 1970 it was updated with a male notched fin base slotting and locking into a molded female box.
This design was replicated by Guidance Fin System and other manufacturers.

In 1971 Bill Bahne (USA) introduced his Fins Unlimited fin box, that by 1974 was to become universally adopted and replicated.
It is still in current use.
It's huge success was a direct result of the box's ability to accept laminated fibreglass fins of a multitude of designs.
Note that ...
- many riders considered the fibreglass fins superior in performance to molded plastic.
- the fibreglass fins could be manufactured by any experienced laminator.
- the fibreglass fins could be easily reshaped and repaired.
- they were interchangable with boards from different manufacturers.

In Australia in the early 1970's Bahne's design was manufactured in fibreglass (see #83), but this was shortlived as the large scale production of molded boxes substantially reduced the unit price.
In 1974 an Australian company, Wakefield Surfboards, unsuccessfully attempted to market an aluminium model.

With an expanding number of fin designs in the late 1970's for kneeboards, waveskis and the twin-tin surfboard, boxes were available in a variety of lengths to either fit small based fins or allow maximum variation in fin placement.
Many Thruster designs of the early1980's featured two fixed side fins and a short centre fin box to allow the rider some variation in fin selection and placement.
In the 1980's the fin box was an important feature of sailboard design.
They allowed extensive fin experimentation and were also fitted into the deck as the mast track.

As surfboards became finer and thinner in the late 1980's the use of fin boxes in shortboards almost disappeared, but in the early 1990's a fin plug system for surfboards.was developed (initially by FCS, subsequently by others).
Further developments in the 1990’s include bolt-through  boxes for sailboards (Tuttle, USA and others).
Updated May 2006, thanks to Nick Van Brugge.


fin dimensions

 

HEIGHT  (INCHES)
 

BASE (INCHES)
 
 
 
 
 

SPAN (INCHES)
 

@ (INCHES) FROM TAIL


fin cam
finbox screw, hinged with a finger grip and fitted with a rubber grommet that allows fin
adjustment by hand, as opposed to the normal method with a screwdriver.

fin height
the length of the fin measured perpendicular to the bottom of the board.
See Dimensions, below.

fin index : a list of significant fin designs to be catalogued, italics indicate unlisted designs.
Tom Blake Keel/Nub
Bob Simons Round/Radius
Simons Twin
Matt Kevlin Raked Round/Gun
(Dale) Velzy-(Hap) Jacobs Dee-fin
Velzy - Jacobs Vee/Butterfly
Square/Angular
Phil (Edwards)/Reverse/Pixie,
Nose-fin
Dave Sweet  High-drift
Ski and Dive Tunnel/Tunnel Hustler
Greenough Stage I
Dave Sweet Bat-fin
White Owl Flow-Thru
Mike Hynson Dol-fin
(Donald) Takyama Blade
Greenough Stage II
(Reynolds) Yater
Dewy Weber Hatchet
Greenough Stage III
Migdet Farrelly Cutaway
Richard Harvey F-fin
Greek Surfboards Tiger Tail
Skip Frye New-E-Free
Gordon and Smith Hy-Performance,
Rick (Stoner) UFO
Greenough Stage IV
Mike Eaton Twin Fin #1
Steve Lis Fish (twin)
Tri-fin
Pat Morgan (Australia)/D. Barnham (USA) Keel
Malcom and Duncan Campbell Bonzer Keel
Jeff Ho StraightBack Radial-cut Flex
Michael Cundith Radial-cut Flex
(Dick) Brewer Wide Base
(George) DowningTrailing Edge
Mark Richards Twin Fin #2
Boomerang
Bob McTavish Fence
Wave-ski Cutaway
SimonAnderson Thruster
(Cheyne) Horan/(Ben) Lexan Keel/Winged Keel/Star
Jimmy Lewis Cutaway
Canard
Glen Winton Four-fin/Quad
Bobby Owens Football
Slotted-fin
757-fin

fin placement
measured as the distance from the rear of the fin base to the tail or back of the board.

home catalogue history references appendix

Geoff Cater (1999 - 2022) : Catalogue : Fins
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/f.html